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Fabio Borini
'Fabio Borini '(born 29 March 1991) is an Italian international footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool from 2012 to 2015. Liverpool career Borini was rumoured to be high on manager Brendan Rodgers' wanted list ever since Rodgers took the Anfield hotseat in June 2012, due to his lengthy working relationship with Borini at previous clubs Chelsea and Swansea. On 9 July, Rodgers stated in a press conference that Liverpool were close to their first signing, and reportedly also said the signing would be 'exciting,' and that 'the fans will love him.' It was widely believed the player in question was Fabio Borini, and on 13 July, Liverpool confirmed that Borini had signed for the club on a long term contract. A fee of €13,300,000 plus €1,000,000 in performance-related add-ons was agreed the previous day with Roma. Borini will wear the number 29 shirt for the 2012-13 season, a shirt number he requested as '29' is his lucky number. Due to his involvement in Italy's run to the Euro 2012 final, Borini was granted leave until 1 August 2012 by Rodgers. Borini however declined the offer in order to allow him to link up with his new Liverpool teammates on their pre-season tour of the USA. His debut came on 28 July 2012 as a 60th minute substitute in the 0-0 friendly draw against Tottenham in Baltimore. His competitive debut came on 2 August 2012 as he played the duration of Liverpool's Europa League third qualifying round first leg tie away to Belarussian side FC Gomel. Liverpool won the match 1-0. Borini started the return leg on 9 August- his first game at Anfield- and he marked the occasion by firing the first goal of the game striking a fine volley through a crowded penalty box having been set up by Luis Suarez. Liverpool went on to win the match 3-0. Borini however was unable to add to his tally in the early phase of his Liverpool career. He played a further nine matches without finding the net before suffering a broken foot whilst on international duty with Italy in October 2012. Liverpool stated that they expected to be without Borini for three months. On 13 January 2013, Borini made his return, coming on as a substitute against Manchester United. However just a month later, on 17 February 2013, Borini suffered a dislocated shoulder that was expected to rule him out for the remainder of the season. He made his comeback however on 27 April 2013 in an away match against Newcastle. His comeback was possibly rushed due to a 10 match suspension picked up by star striker Luis Suarez from the Reds' previous match. Borini entered the action in the 71st minute and scored only two minutes later, toe-poking a well placed finish into the far corner after being teed up by Stewart Downing. The goal marked his first in the Premier League for Liverpool. After an underwhelming 2013-14 pre-season, Borini's first foray into competitive action in the new season was in the U21s match against Manchester United on 19 August 2013. Borini impressed in the match, netting two goals- the first a free kick, and the second a goal from a tight angle after he had rounded 'keeper Ben Amos. He struggled to receive game time with the first team in the early phase of the season however, and with the recruitment of forwards Iago Aspas and Victor Moses, he was allowed to leave the club on a season-long loan to Sunderland on 2 September 2013. He returned at the end of the season and played in Liverpool's post-season friendly against Shamrock Rovers on 14 May 2014. In a 4-0 win, Borini netted Liverpool's second with a well-placed finish across the goal. After the match, he received praise from Brendan Rodgers, who said Liverpool had 'got back a better player' following the Italian's loan. Despite this, Liverpool accepted bids for Borini from both Sunderland and QPR over the summer, reportedly in the region of £12-14,000,000. Rodgers encouraged Borini to move and accept the opportunity to play regular first team football, however Borini stood firm and remained a Liverpool player at the close of the transfer window. Injury to Daniel Sturridge gave Borini his opportunity in the team eary in the season, and he made his first competitive appearance since the 2012-13 season for Liverpool on 13 September 2014, appearing as a second half substitute in Liverpool's 1-0 home defeat to Aston Villa. He then made his first start for Liverpool since March 2013 in Liverpool's away tie with West Ham on 20 September, however he was unable to prevent the Reds slipping to a 3-1 defeat. On 28 October 2014, Borini made a rare start in Liverpool's League Cup tie at home to Swansea. His performance was widely praised, and although he couldn't get on the scoresheet himself, he did provide the cross for Mario Balotelli to score, and help Liverpool on their way to a 2-1 win. Borini subsequently struggled for game time at Liverpool, with him often not even finding himself on the bench despite injuries to fellow strikers Sturridge and Balotelli. Borini made a rare appearance as a last-minute substitute in Liverpool's 3-1 away win over Bournemouth on 17 December 2014 in the League Cup. On 21 December 2014, Borini was introduced as a 74th minute substitute as Liverpool were trailing Arsenal 2-1 at Anfield. Borini however was sent off for two yellow cards soon after coming on- first for throwing the ball away, and second for a high boot onto the chest of Santi Cazorla. Borini started Liverpool's tie away to Sunderland on 10 January 2015 and provided the assist for Lazar Markovic to score the only goal of the game. In the next game, Borini scored his first goal of the season to put Liverpool 1-0 up away to Aston Villa. Borini connected with a Jordan Henderson cross to open the scoring as Liverpool went on to win 2-0. However, that proved to be Borini's last start for Liverpool, as he made just four more appearances, all off the bench. In the summer of 2015, it was made clear that the Italian was not wanted at the club, and he, alongside Mario Balotelli and Jose Enrique was left out of the club's squad for the tour of Asia and Australia. Reports linked him with moves to several Italian clubs such as Lazio and Inter Milan. On 31 August 2015 however, it was confirmed that Borini was to sign for Sunderland, who he had spent the 2013-14 season on loan at, for a reported fee of £8,000,000, possibly rising to £10,000,000. Borini spent three years at Anfield, making 38 appearances, and scoring just 3 goals. Stats External links * *Fabio Borini's profile on liverpoolfc.com * Category:Former Players Category:Forwards